(a) Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a docking or mooring apparatus used to safely reach and pull to a dock or to a second boat, in a safe, controlled and extended manner. The dock or the second boat may be equipped with different docking elements, such as a piling, a cleat, a ring, or some other element. These docking elements may also be at different heights. Many docking apparatus comprise of loops made of material such as rope, therefore requiring some skill and dexterity on the part of the boat-crew to actually be able to dock. Some docking apparatus also require a person to be on the dock to enable the docking Some significant drawbacks of the prior art apparatus are that most of them are capable of attaching to only one kind of docking element; or the apparatus provide loops of a fixed size; or the loops hang if not supported. Even in situations where these issues are addressed one at a time, the connection between the docking portion of the apparatus and the portion that is pulled on by a boat operator may not be direct. This may increase wear and tear of the apparatus from the resulting tensile forces. Also, an operator of a boat may not be aware of the particular docking element she might encounter at the next dock. This creates an unmet need for a docking apparatus capable of having multiple docking attachments to enable docking safely with different docking elements. These attachments must be secured in a manner to effectively transfer the tensile forces to the tensile member without allowing the forces to cause unnecessary wear and tear at the weak points of the apparatus. In addition to a novel solution to these problems, the present invention also addresses other issues in the prior art, to provide a superior, lightweight, inexpensive, durable, multi-purpose docking apparatus, which may also be floatable. Another very important and favorable use is around areas of boat congestion. This could be around fuel docks where someone extends assistance from the dock to the boats. A person at the dock usually grabs the cleat of an inbound boat to pull it in. Such a person on the dock may now use this docking aid to get the inbound boat pulled closer to the fuel dock to tie off more safely and quickly. This docking aid will give this person greater reach and control, especially in areas of congestion. This new docking aid is therefore suitable for extended reaching and pulling to a dock or another boat in a safe and controlled manner.
(b) Description of the Relevant Art
When a boat or watercraft nears a dock, including fuel docks, or another vessel, the operator of the boat has to moor it by attaching it to a docking element on the dock or the second vessel. This is usually achieved by throwing a rope made of suitable marine material so that it loops around a cleat, or a piling (either standing independently, or connected to a dock). This method of docking either requires some dexterity on the part of the operator of the boat, or it requires a second person who can help put a loop around the docking element. This may be either due to the tendency of the vessel to drift, or it may be in areas of boat congestion. Given the small interval of time available to successfully dock the boat under such circumstances, this hit-and miss method is inefficient, and under certain conditions of high wind and/or swift currents, could also be dangerous. Thus, there is a need for a docking aid apparatus which may aid in pulling closer to the dock in a safe and controlled manner. Such an apparatus must have an extended reach, and be sufficiently strong to be able to pull a boat closer to the dock.
Many apparatus in the prior art enclose part of the rope in a suitable tube that offers some rigidity. Such a rigid tube also forces a certain minimum distance between the boat and the dock or second vessel, thereby reducing damage from possible collisions. Some apparatus with loops and/or tubular elements are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,717,053 by Jayne, U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2004/0237867 by Dunn, U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,421 by Velarde, U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,514 by Yuscavage, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,398,634 by Eagan. In some instances, these tubular elements may be designed to be telescoping to afford some flexibility as to the distance between the boat and the docking element. A floatable apparatus with a telescoping element is disclosed by Nunziato, et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 3,993,013.
Another common problem encountered by operators of boats and other watercrafts is the difference in the physical dimensions of the docks. For instance, some pilings may be too tall to be successfully looped from a boat. The prior art has some apparatus that solve this problem by using either a docking fork, such as the one taught by Trillo in U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,602; a mooring hook, as disclosed by Morton in U.S. Pat. No. 6,085,681; an apparatus with a Y-like member as disclosed by Donley in U.S. Pat. No. 6,659,033; or an apparatus for grabbing a hook, as taught by Blake in U.S. Pat. No. 5,967,575.
A watercraft mooring apparatus with a clasp connected to a loop is disclosed by Eagan in U.S. Pat. No. 5,398,634. This apparatus consists of two loops. One loop is connected to a watercraft mooring member and the other loop is connected to a dock mooring member. The loops are formed from a single length of rope, by enclosing the portion of the rope between the loops in an elongated shaft. One end of the rope is secured in the interior bore of the elongated shaft, while the other end comes out of the elongated shaft through a sidewall hole. The two ends of the tube are suitably capped. One or both loops may have a closable clasp connected to it. Two major drawbacks of this apparatus are that the tensile forces acting on the rope may rupture the tubular element. Also, the clasp is not securely connected to the loop, thereby requiring manual intervention to secure the clasp to the mooring element. The clasp is primarily intended to connect the loop to a mooring member in the shape of a closed ring. This apparatus also does not allow for other attachments to be securely connected to the loop or loops.
The patents mentioned above fail to adequately solve the problems associated with docking a boat. Many patents in the art are directed to long-term mooring of the craft, as opposed to acquiring initial contact with a docking element. It is desirable that a docking aid be adaptable to different docking environments and aid in acquiring the initial contact with a docking element. It is also desirable that the docking aid have multipurpose utility.